The New Justice League: The Rogues Gallery vs The Justice League
by Gage39
Summary: Part 8. Although suspicious the Rogues Gallery agrees to kidnap Billy Batson and have him unhypnotized. While the Justice League is diverted Lex Luthor makes yet another move that not only leads towards the League's ultimate destruction but also signals the end of Black Adam's time in this universe.
1. Rogue Ideas

The New Justice League: The Rogues Gallery vs. the Justice League

Chapter 1: Rogue Ideas

"So-what does the great Lex Luthor want with us?" Captain Cold aka Leonard Snart leaned casually against the wall, one hand resting on his cold gun. Although the man across the room had no powers he knew better than anyone not to underestimate those without powers.

Luthor held up a hand, effectively silencing Mercy Graves before she could say anything. "I want to hire you and your crew," his eyes flickered over towards the Pied Piper and Captain Boomerang before returning to Captain Cold.

"Kinda figured," Captain Boomerang (originally Digger Harkness) quipped, ignoring the dark look both Cold and Mercy sent him.

Privately Cold found it amusing as well but he chose to focus on Luthor first. "What exactly do you need us for? You have literally hundreds of people that would do whatever you asked them to do including several that actually have magic. I highly doubt that we could really help you with anything."

Luthor hesitated and Mercy took the opportunity to explain. "This is Billy Batson," she handed a stack of photos to Captain Cold who took them, his face darkening as he looked at them. "He has some very powerful abilities and was recently hypnotized and he can no longer use them. Normally we could use magic to restore them but Billy's natural magical abilities and the fact that she used technology creates a bit of a problem for us."

"What's in it for you?" only years of practice kept Captain Cold's voice cool and his hands steady. If Luthor mean to harm the kid then there was no way they were going to help him-in fact they'd probably give Flash a heads up so the Justice League could protect the kid and his family. One of the few rules the Rogues Gallery followed was: "no kids, no" and a lot of people respected that. Crimes such as rape, prostitution and even human trafficking had dropped significantly once they set up shop in the twin cities and the ones that ignored them had paid the price.

Luthor sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "Mercy here has taken a liking to the boy so I agreed to do this instead of giving her a bonus this year."

As Captain Cold's eyes narrowed the Pied Piper took the initiative and asked, "Why do you have an interest in him? Why shouldn't we just report this to the Justice League?"

Mercy hesitated then cleared her throat before speaking. "Amanda Waller has it out for Billy-I hate her and I know that it would infuriate her to know that her revenge was foiled."

The three Rogues straightened and Captain Boomerang visibly blanched. They had all heard their fair share of horror stories about her plus she had tried to recruit Digger which had not been a fun situation to deal with. Flash and Green Lantern had been forced to intervene on their behalf much to everyone's dismay.

"What's that bitch want with a bloody kid?" Captain Boomerang demanded. Waller had tried to frame him for the death of his stepfather a little over a year ago so she could try and recruit him (and, by extension, the Rogues Gallery). It hadn't worked out very well and several innocent people had been caught in the crossfire including Piper who still had scars from where they had been forced to dig bullets out of his leg.

"Technically she did help create Billy as did Mercy and myself," Luthor explained.

"He's a clone," Piper grinned. "But of who?"

"The Justice League," Mercy admitted with a wince.

"We're screwed," Captain Boomerang groaned.

"Why isn't he with the Justice League?" Cold wanted to know. "And don't tell me they don't know about him because that's a load of bullshit."

"After Billy lost his powers he ran away to try and live like a normal person. The Justice League is keeping tabs on him but they're in such a state of confusion right now that they can't do more than that. Once he has his powers back, however, then they won't have a choice," Luthor sounded very matter-of-fact. "I promise, we don't mean him any harm."

"Piper?" Cold turned to the musician.

Piper had a thoughtful expression on his face as he said, "He's telling the truth." The implants that allowed Piper to hear also let him hear heartbeats, thus giving him the ability to discern whether or not someone was lying.

"Why us?" Cold crossed his arms and waited. He had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew why therefore he wasn't surprised by Luthor's answer.

"Because you and your crew have a reputation and we don't want Billy hurt. Anyone else would use to try and get back at the Justice League but you won't."

"Fair enough," Cold shrugged. "In that case we'll do it but only if she," he pointed at Mercy, "gives her word that not only will you not hurt the kid but you won't double-cross us. She has her own reputation-she's trustworthy, more so in fact than you."

"I give you my word," Mercy looked him straight in the eyes.

"Sounds like we got a deal then." Cold tapped his watch, "Sam, we're ready."

* * *

"You know, Clark," Lois leaned on his desk and smiled flirtatiously at him. "I really enjoyed our date the other night."

Clark looked up from his computer and smiled back at her. "So did I," he admitted. "Would you like to do it again? I hear there's a new exhibit being unveiled at the museum this weekend," he offered.

"A museum?" Lois raised an eyebrow. "Clark, we do stuff like that all the time for work-don't you ever try something new?"

Clark eyed her warily. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Lois's eyes lit up. "A new club just opened last week and everybody says it's really cool. I thought maybe we could go check it out and do a little dancing," she suggested.

"I don't know," Clark hesitated. "I'm not very good at dancing," not to mention all the noise would hurt his eyes thanks to his super hearing. Sometimes it was a useful ability and but most of the time it wasn't.

Lois pouted, like a real pout. "But, Clark, I really want to go." She moved behind him and began massaging his shoulders. "Tell you what, just go with me for an hour and then if you don't like it we'll go to the museum. How does that sound?"

Her voice was low and sensuous, almost hypnotic even. As she continued talking Clark found it hard to form a coherent thought let alone argue with her anymore. "That-that sounds good," he finally managed to stammer out. Almost immediately his thoughts cleared and the pressure in his chest dissipated.

"Wonderful," Lois grinned. "We can talk more over lunch. Later, Smallville!"

"Man, you're lucky," Jimmy Olsen said wistfully as he looked into Clark's cubicle. "I'd give anything to go out with her even once."

"Have you ever considered just talking to her?" Clark looked at the red-headed young man who shrugged.

"I was going to but she asked you out first," Jimmy sounded bitter, an unusual change of pace for the normally cheerful young man.

"You snooze you lose, Jimmy," Clark turned back to his computer, ignoring his friend.

_What is going on with everyone,_ Jimmy wondered as he began checking his cameras. _I know Lois has always had a thing for Clark but I never thought she'd actually ask him out. Not to mention Clark's started getting meaner to everyone the past couple of weeks. Something strange is going on and I plan to get to the bottom of it. One way or another I'll find out the truth._


	2. Misdirection

The New Justice League: The Rogues Gallery vs. the Justice League

Chapter 2: Misdirection

"Alright listen up, everyone," Len glared until the room fell silent then continue speaking. "We're going to split up into two groups: group one which consists of Mick, Digger, James and Mark will create a diversion to draw out the Justice League while Piper, Sam and I get the kid."

"What about me, Lenny?" the Golden Glider aka Lisa Snart aka Len's baby sister leaned forward, her blue eyes full of fake hurt as she gazed at her brother. "What do you want me to do?"

Len sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be happy when he told her or for sometime after that. "Well, Lisa, my favorite sister I have a very important task for you-you're the only one that I can trust to do it."

"I call bull," the Trickster aka James Jesse sniggered as he brushed imaginary lint off his polka-dotted pants.

"Does this task happen to include Gambi?" Mark Mardon didn't even bother looking up from his book, a first edition copy of _Tom Sawyer_. His love for Mark Twain didn't usually fit the opinion others had of the Weather Wizard.

"Lenny," Lisa glared at her brother who was now looking a bit sheepish. "This task had better not involve the kids!"

"Hey," Digger poked his head around the doorway. "Would you keep it down? I finally got the blighter to nod off-I don't want you to wake 'im back up."

"Is Axel still asleep?" James asked worriedly. It was a hassle for the former circus acrobat to get his son to sleep, mostly because he was still trying to adjust to being a father. Thankfully the other Rogues were willing to lend a hand which made things a lot easier.

"For now-as long as you yahoos keep it down," the Australian hissed. "If you wanna wake 'em when you're watchin' 'em that's up to you."

"I'm not a babysitter," Lisa grumbled.

"Oh for crying out loud," Mick Rory groaned. "You're staying behind as a safety measure and because it's not fair to expect Gambi to run his shop and watch two kids at the same time." Heatwave had anticipated this argument from the moment Len and the others had come back and had had his argument prepared in advance.

Seeing that his girlfriend still wasn't convinced Sam Scudder decided to speak up. "Look, babe, Gambi's not a miracle worker and neither are we. In case something goes wrong and we need someone to bail us out you're the only other one I trust to use my mirror gun." Mirror Master was very overprotective of his weapon which wasn't unexpected as it was one of the few weapons that was almost impossible to guard against and made jail breaks very easy.

"I think we were just insulted," Harley Rathaway snarked as he finished polishing his silver flute. The rat sitting on his shoulder squeaked in agreement. The Pied Piper was known for having a sharp tongue and wit and spared no one when he felt the need to lecture.

"Okay, fine," Lisa rolled her eyes as she reluctantly agreed. "But only because I feel sorry for Gambi-but next time someone else ahs to stay behind."

"Not it!" a chorus of voices rang out.

"I'm working with children," Len groaned, rolling his eyes.

* * *

"Flash," J'onn called, not taking his eyes off the monitor.

"Yes?" Flash eagerly looked up from his own monitor. He was not a big fan of monitor duty and was always trying to find ways out of it much to the annoyance of everyone else.

"It would appear that several members of your Rogues Gallery are attempting to rob the Smithsonian," J'onn reported.

"What?" Flash frowned and zoomed across the room to peer over the Martian's shoulder. "What're they doing there? They don't usually leave the twin cities-they know they're free game for any do gooder."

"I maybe a telepath but even I can't tell you that. I'll call the others and we can go find out," J'onn pressed a few buttons and began relaying coordinates.

Billy whistled happily as he left the grocery store, stuffing loose change in the pocket of his jeans as he shifted the plastic bag to his other hand. Fawcett City, he reflected, was so nice and friendly, from the owner of WHIZ Media to the homeless guy that lived in the abandoned subway to Miss Bambi, the middle-aged woman that wore too much makeup and liked to go on short car rides with different men. They all worried over Billy in their own way and, honestly, it was nice. As much as he idolized the Justice League he wasn't stupid: they would never trust him or care for him the way others would. Being out here, on his own, had taught him that lesson.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself," a melodic voice said.

Startled, Billy looked up. A man stood at the end of the alley, clutching a flute in one hand while rats milled about his feet. Everything he had on was green, from his stocking cap to his boots. "You're the Pied Piper," Billy gasped, his eyes wide. The man (though he couldn't have been over twenty) smirked and raised his flute to his lips. A sweet, hypnotic melody came out and, against his will, Billy's eyes began to grow heavy and a pair of strong arms caught him before he could hit the ground.

"He's tiny," Piper observed as he peered over Cold's shoulder.

"Like you can talk," Sam snorted as he leaned halfway through a shard of glass on the ground.

"You weren't much bigger than him when we took you in," Cold agreed.

Piper chose to ignore them and lifted his flute again. "Let's get this show on the road," he sighed. "I'm sure the others'll want to get busted out soon."

* * *

"So what's got you down?" Hal threw an arm over Flash's shoulder.

Flash didn't answer at first, his gaze focused on the Rogues being loaded into a police transport vehicle. "Something just doesn't feel right," he said at last. "This isn't like them and where are the others? Mirror Master obviously dropped them off here so where is he?"

Hal rolled his eyes. "You're over thinking this," he chided. "Why don't you forget them and focus on something else?"

"Like what?" Flash turned to face him.

"This," Hal fished out a pair of tickets and waved them in the air.

Flash snatched them eagerly. "Super bowl tickets?" he gasped incredulously.

"I know a guy," Hal winked.

* * *

J'onn was dutifully watching the monitors when the intruder alarms went off. Startled, he located then source of the disturbance then immediately rook off down the hall, calling the other Leaguers as he did so. He reached out with his mind but, to his great surprise, he only felt one presence and a familiar one at that. He burst into the dining room and, ignoring how the surface of a nearby table rippled, ran to where Billy lay on a table.

He was wrapping in a green cloak and his eyes were shut. His chest rose and fell steadily and J'onn exhaled in relief. He placed a hand on Billy's forehead and carefully entered the boy's mind.

The mindscape had certainly improved since their first meeting, J'onn thought wryly. No longer was everything broken and shattered but was now repaired, warm and welcoming. Paths still twisted and took you nowhere and fractures ran down structural support columns but, all in all, it was still in very good shape. J'onn frowned as he always did when he saw the cavern marked Shazam. A sign with a clock that read 'Will Return At' hung at the entrance. The clock hands were absent and it sent a chill down his spine. Finally, he reached what he was looking for and his eyes widened. "Oh my," he said at last. "This is most unexpected."

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the lack of fighting scenes but I'm not very good at them plus I just go with what my gut tells me to write and it said not to write a fight sequence.


	3. Farewell, Black Adam

The New Justice League: The Rogues Gallery vs. the Justice League

Chapter 3: Farewell, Black Adam

Although Paul Gambi was nearing fifty he didn't usually feel old. He was, after all, a tailor by trade and, as of yet, he wasn't having any trouble threading needles or operating a sewing machine. He could spend hours working and not feel tired but give him tow babies to look after and he was suddenly overwhelmed. He didn't mind watching Axel and Owen but they were _exhausting._ He didn't want to know what they would be like when they learned how to walk and talk. Thankfully, Lisa was staying behind to help them out so he could actually get some work done. Supervillain costumes didn't make themselves after all.

"They're back," Lisa called as the mirror in the back room began to ripple.

Paul looked up from his sewing machine then got up and ambled across the room towards the huge closet where large amounts of medical supplies were hidden amongst rolls of fabric and spools of thread. This wasn't the first time the Rogues Gallery had shown up injured and he doubted it would be the last.

Once James and Digger had climbed out they went straight to Lisa who was rocking the babies in the rocking chair that Mark had stolen and placed in the corner of the room. She happily handed over the children and their fathers immediately began to coo at them.

Mick spared the kids a quick glance before shrugging off his coat, giving Gambi access to a long gash on his right arm. "So glad Flash doesn't use swords," he grumbled.

"Hear, hear," Mark said approvingly. "Or super strength," he scowled at his reflection, his left eye already swollen shut.

"We shouldn't have to fight the whole Justice League again," Cold assured them. "And I doubt we'll be hearing from Luthor again. We only took this job to piss off Waller; getting mixed up with Luthor and the Justice League is not a path we want to pursue."

"Agreed," Piper pushed a chest of drawers to the side and slipped into the closet hidden behind it.

"Hey grab me another mask while you're in there," Sam called. Gambi kept the Rogues extra costumes out of sight just in case the police or another criminal came through. Everyone knew what he did but weren't stupid enough to arrest him without massive amounts of evidence since he also made Flash's costume and it was well known that he was under the Rogues protection.

"I ordered pizza," Lisa informed them as she re-packed the diaper bags.

"Sounds great," James grinned.

"And beer," Digger added. "Can't forget the beer."

* * *

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highness," Luthor smiled and bowed.

Black Adam's eyes narrowed. He had no doubt that the bald-headed man was mocking him. His henchwoman, a tall woman with a blonde braid (undoubtedly an Amazon) didn't bow and her expression said that she would bow to no one.

"What do you want?" Black Adam had very little patience and saw no reason to suffer through hours of pretence and false politeness. The sooner he got through with this the sooner they could leave and he could continue his search for the graves of his families. "And why did you have someone teleport you inside my castle? You could have simply come through the front door like all of the other peasants."

The woman drew herself straight, indignation written on her features. She was about to speak when her employer held up a hand. "I didn't want anyone else to know that I was here. I'm-"

"I know who you are, Lex Luthor," Black Adam interrupted with a sneer. "I also know our reputation and I can tell you right now-there is nothing you have that I could possibly need. Now, show yourselves out," he commanded with a wave of his hand.

Instead, however, Luthor smiled and said, "I know where your second wife and her brother are. Not their bodies," he added quickly. "They have been reincarnated and are living right here in Khandaq."

Black Adam froze for a moment then grabbed the brown manila envelope the woman was holding. He pulled out a stack of photographs and quickly flipped through them, his hands trembling which they hadn't done in _centuries._ Her hair was shorter and she was thin (he could see most of her bones) but it was unmistakably her and the boy on crutches who ate most of their food was his brother. He was so transfixed on the photos that he didn't hear the footsteps until it was too late.

When the sword pierced his heart he gasped and turned to see Mercy standing behind him. "This is the Flashing Blade," she said conversationally. "It's a magical blade blessed by the gods themselves. It was created to strip a magical being of their powers and transfer them to the killer. However, if those powers were stolen in the first place then they would return to their rightful owner. I'm doing this because I feel guilty for what we did to Billy and for everything that we are currently doing. Besides, we may have need of his powers later on and you don't fit into our plans." She pulled the sword free and cut his head off for good measure then called Timothy to let him know that they were ready to go.

"And now that he's out of the way we can re-open the diamond mines," Lex grinned, then flinched as a bolt of magical lightning shot from Black Adam's corpse through the ceiling.

"It is nice how often our goals align," Mercy wiped the sword off before muttering a quick incantation and returning the now knife sized sword to the sheath on her thigh.

* * *

"So what's wrong with him?" Flash hovered anxiously in the medical bay as J'onn continued to run tests on Billy who was now hooked to multiple machines. Barry Allen was a crime scene investigator-not a doctor. Devouring all the books in the world wouldn't ease the ball of nerves in his stomach until Billy woke up.

"As far as I can tell his body is trying to readjust to having his powers back. He should be waking up soon," out of all of them J'onn had the most medical training (not to mention the best bedside manner).

Batman was stuck in a board meeting and Superman and Wonder Woman were lecturing the police about the fact that the Rogues Gallery had already escaped custody leaving J'onn, Flash and Hal at the Watchtower with Billy.

"Maybe he'll wake up in a few minutes," Hal said hopefully.

Just then a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and struck Billy. His eyes snapped open and he screamed. After a moment he stopped convulsing and sat straight up. His blue eyes were glowing and the air snapped with electricity (and something else, something…magical). "My powers have returned," his voice sounded strange and they all shivered at the sound of it. "But something is not right-they feel…off."

* * *

A/N: I apologize if this isn't one of my best but as I've already said action stories aren't my best.

Next up: The Thanagarians invade and Shazam decides to make friends with Hawkgirl and Hawkman instead of actually fighting them. Meanwhile Star Sapphire makes an appearance, throwing Hal for a loop.


End file.
